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MHA highlights city architecture

MANCHESTER — Seven historic properties, two converted for office use, others still serving as private homes, and one converted from a college student center to a private residence, are on Sunday’s annual Historic Architecture of Manchester Tour.

There will be a guided walking tour that begins at Brookside Congregational Church, 2013 Elm St., at 12:30 p.m. and returns to the church at 1:45 p.m.

Ticket holders can tour the interior of the properties at their own pace and in any order they wish between noon and 5 p.m.

While late Victorian era and early 20th Century homes dominate North Elm and the adjoining streets, there are a number of structures from later periods.

Three private residences on the tour are representative of various periods. The home at 1910 Elm St., built around 1880, blends the late Victorian Stick style with the Queen Anne style. The Colonial Revival house at 2264 Elm St., built in 1929 by lumber dealer Edward Leach, not surprisingly features many fine wood details both inside and out.

The third private residence, at 8 Carpenter St., was built in 1976. It began life as the student center for the former Notre Dame College, and the dramatic fireplace and other original features were incorporated into the design when the building was converted into a private residence.

Two of the buildings, a brick mansion built in 1923 at 282 River Road, and the house built in 1882 at 84 Bay St., have been converted for office use, but retain many of the original historic and elegant features.The Brookside campus includes a mix of periods, with the 1960 Colonial Revival church building and sanctuary, the 1931 chapel (moved from the Franklin Street Church Parish House), and the 1908 Georgian Revival Manning House that was originally the home of the church’s benefactor, philanthropist Mary Manning.The seventh historic property, at 1056 N. River Road, is now the Manchester Police Mounted Unit stables. The stables, built in the 1920s on the grounds of what is now the Sununu Youth Services Center, is home to police horses Valor and General John Stark, who will be receiving visitors during the tour.

Tickets are $20 in advance and can be reserved by calling the Manchester Historic Association at 622-7531 or visiting the Millyard Museum, 200 Bedford St., Saturday from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Anyone with reservations can pick up their tickets at Brookside Congregational Church before the tour begins. Tickets will be available for $25 on Sunday at the church. Children 12 and under are free, but must be accompanied by an adult. No one will be admitted onto any tour property without a ticket.

Proceeds from the tour will benefit the programs of the Manchester Historic Association, a nonprofit that operates the museum and the research center at 129 Amherst St.